QLogic shares fall after Q4 results miss Street view

May 1 (Reuters) - Shares of QLogic Corp QLGC.O fell 8
percent on Friday, a day after the company posted
fourth-quarter results that missed analysts' expectations.

On Thursday, the company, which supplies parts for
data-storage networks, also said it acquired privately held
NetXen Inc for about $21 million in cash.

"We believe QLogic made the right acquisition at a
reasonable price," ThinkEquity analyst Rajesh Ghai said in a
note to clients.

The deal is expected to add $5 million in revenue for the
company in fiscal 2010, analysts said.

However, analyst Ghai downgraded the stock to "accumulate,"
citing the absence of near-term catalyst for the company to
grow revenue and the recent sharp rise in the share price.

QLogic's shares, which had risen more than 27 percent over
the past one month through Thursday, fell as much as 8 percent
to $13 Friday on Nasdaq.

However, Robert W. Baird & Co upgraded QLogic to
"outperform" from "neutral."

"We believe the June quarter will mark the trough in EPS
with a depressed, but respectable operating margin of 23
percent," analyst Jayson Noland wrote in a note to clients.

The company also forecast first-quarter results that fell
short of consensus estimates, due to macroeconomic weakness,
Noland said.

For the fourth quarter, QLogic posted earnings of 20 cents
a share, lower than analysts' average estimate of 21 cents.
[ID:nWNAB1547]

Shares of the company, which competes in the host-products
market with companies like Emulex Corp ELX.N, were trading
down 88 cents at $13.30 Friday morning on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Shrutika Verma in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak
Kannan)